Hagar in the Desert

septembre 1641

Born

1664

Flight from Liège and Marriage to Marie Salme

He fled Liège after an affair with two sisters, his models, ended in scandal. He headed north with Marie Salme and married her in Visé; the couple settled in Utrecht, where a son was baptized in April 1665.

1667

Move to Amsterdam

When the art dealer Gerrit van Uylenburgh discovered Gerard's talent, the artist moved to Amsterdam. He arrived with a violin, and his playing impressed Jan van Pee at Uylenburgh's studio.

1676–1683

Paintings for Soestdijk Palace

He painted pictures for the decoration of Soestdijk Palace; in this period he also created stage sets for the theater and drawings for the theatrical works of Andries Pels and the collector Gerrit Reynst.

by 1690

Total Blindness and the End of His Painting Career

Suffering from hereditary syphilis, he had gone completely blind by 1690 and was forced to give up painting. He concentrated on twice-weekly lectures at his home, gathering many pupils and followers; his son Johannes took notes of the lectures.

1701

Foundations of Drawing (Grondlegginge ter teekenkonst)

Based on the lecture notes, the book Foundations of Drawing was published, becoming a kind of manifesto of Dutch academicism.